UCI Professor Anthony James in Irvine on Tuesday, May 9, 2017. James, a vector biologist, will lead a multimillion-dollar effort to cultivate new strains of mosquitoes to fight malaria in Africa. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Orange County Register/SCNG)

UC Irvine has received $2 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to genetically modify a species of mosquito found in Africa so that it can no longer spread malaria.

The work, led by molecular biologist Anthony James, is expected to be completed within three years. Then, the altered mosquitoes could be released for the first time in a trial to see if they reduce the spread of the deadly disease that kills more than 400,000 people a year, many of them children in sub-Saharan Africa.

This infrared microscope image shows the red-glowing eyes of mosquito larvae. The red fluorescence is produced by a marker protein by researchers that confirms that the malaria-blocking antibodies injected into the embryos have reached the desired DNA site. File photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Using a microscope, Nijole Jaskins Krene, a specialist in the UC Irvine lab researcher Anthony James, uses a syringe to inject mosquito embryos with DNA. (File photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Hundreds of live mosquitos bred in the laboratory at UCI are kept in a container in the basement laboratory of molecular biologist Anthony James. File photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Anthony James, a molecular biologist at the University of California, Irvine, reviews the genealogy chart of mosquito populations been genetically engineered to not transmit malaria. File photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Anthony James, a molecular biologist at the University of California, Irvine, has recently been successful in genetically engineering mosquitoes that can’t transmit malaria by using a revolutionary gene-editing technology, known as CRISPR-Cas9. File photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A bubble of genetic material forms on the end of a mosquito embryo, second from right, as Nijole Jaskins Krene, a specialist in the UC Irvine lab researcher Anthony James, uses a syringe under a microscope in inject each embryo with DNA. Nijole Jaskins Krene, a specialist in the lab of UC Irvine researcher Anthony James ///ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: malaria.0117 Ð 1/12/16 Ð LEONARD ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER – IMG_1912.jpg – UC Irvine researcher Anthony James has changed the genes of one mosquito species, rendering it ? and nearly all of its offspring ? unable to infect people with malaria. Last year, malaria killed 438,000 people worldwide. James used a revolutionary gene-editing technology, known as CRISPR-Cas9, that has the potential to fix genetic errors in animals and humans, including those that cause blindness and muscular dystrophy.

Anthony James, a molecular biologist at the University of California, Irvine, holds a container filled with live mosquitos bred in the laboratory at UCI. ///ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: malaria.0117 Ð 1/12/16 Ð LEONARD ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER – _DSC9340.NEF – UC Irvine researcher Anthony James has changed the genes of one mosquito species, rendering it ? and nearly all of its offspring ? unable to infect people with malaria. Last year, malaria killed 438,000 people worldwide. James used a revolutionary gene-editing technology, known as CRISPR-Cas9, that has the potential to fix genetic errors in animals and humans, including those that cause blindness and muscular dystrophy.

“This is another big step,” James said Tuesday. “It brings us that much closer to trying it in the field.”

Malaria is caused by parasites that infect mosquitoes, who then transmit the disease to humans through bites. According to the World Health Organization, despite decades of intense effort, there is no approved vaccine, though clinical trials are ongoing.

In 2011, James’ lab genetically engineered the Anopheles stephensi species of mosquito, which spreads malaria in India’s urban areas, with genes that made it resistant to malaria.

Four years later, in a collaboration with UC San Diego, scientists used a gene-editing technology to insert the genes, which were then passed on to 99 percent of the mosquitoes’ offspring who were hatched in the lab.

The UCI Malaria Initiative will now tackle Anopheles gambiae, which transmit malaria in many parts of Africa. James said the technology must be adapted to that species, which he compared to building a different brand of car.

“We’re fairly confident we can,” James said. “I think the development will go fairly quickly.”

The Gates Foundation has made malaria a top priority, according to its website. In a statement, the foundation said it was pleased that the UCI initiative is developing novel approaches to vector control.

“Eliminating malaria will require new tools to stop transmission of the parasite. This integrated approach will help ensure that discoveries made in the lab make their way to the field,” the statement said.

James said that after the engineering is completed, public health and environmental regulatory agencies, as well as community members, would have to give approval to release the mosquitoes into an area infected with malaria. They would then mate with the native mosquitoes and pass along their genetic modification.

He expects a trial would cost $25 million and within a year or two it would be clear if the mosquitoes were quelling the spread of disease.

But he said he’s not sure if the project will be accepted, noting that measles still spreads in the U.S. because people don’t get vaccinated.

“The science may be well ahead of society’s ability to adapt to that and I just have to accept that,” James said. “I think it’s a fundamental fear of new technology. When people were developing airplanes, they were saying if God wanted us to fly we would have wings. Part of human nature is to be a little apprehensive about new things.”

But whether James, 65, has the chance to see the altered mosquitoes released from his lab, he said his greatest concern is the suffering caused by malaria.

“The frustration is living in the 21st century and living with these medieval diseases,” he said. “We do this with the hope the work we’re doing will contribute to making the situation better.”

James said researchers at other UC campuses are working to target non-native mosquito species that have come to California and could transmit diseases such as Zika and Dengue fever.

“This technology has spurred an interest to see if we can move it into Africa and also how it can manage invasive species in the U.S.,” James said.

Courtney Perkes has covered the medical beat for the Register since 2005. She was queasy when she watched surgery for the first time (a knee replacement) especially when a drop of blood splattered in her notebook! She loves writing about public health issues as well as the courage and resilience of patients facing illness. Courtney strives to lead a healthy lifestyle that includes yoga and not microwaving plastic. She is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.

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